The first president of Kyrgyzstan, Askar Akayev, celebrated his 80th birthday on November 10. Rossiyskaya Gazeta published his interview. In particular, the former head of state, who was overthrown on March 24, 2005, commented on the tightening of migration policy in Russia.
«Indeed, the situation with Kyrgyz migrants in Russia has recently worsened. Many Kyrgyzstanis are experiencing great difficulties when returning from a trip to Kyrgyzstan and entering Russia. There have been numerous complaints about detention at airports and a ban on entry to Russia. They are forced to stand for many hours, and sometimes days, waiting for permission to enter. They are especially upset, of course, by the unfounded refusals of entry, for example, to students of Russian universities upon returning from summer vacation. Therefore, Kyrgyzstan expresses concern about the infringement of the rights of Kyrgyz migrants in Russia. Moreover, Kyrgyzstan is an active member of both the EAEU and the CSTO,» Askar Akayev said.
In his opinion, «at the same time, the majority of Kyrgyzstanis understand that the Russian State Duma is adopting laws to tighten migration policy in connection with the need to combat illegal migration, as well as within the framework of necessary measures to prevent terrorism.»
«But their practical application at first had significant distortions. Therefore, let’s hope that unjustified measures of delay and entry ban to Russia are a temporary phenomenon and they will be eliminated in the near future,» he concluded.
Askar Akayev also touched upon the topic of the Russian language in the Kyrgyz Republic.
According to him, interest in it in the republic is not weakening.
«After all, about a million Kyrgyz live in Russia. Almost every family in Kyrgyzstan has its own representative in Russia or relatives and friends. In addition, Russia has recently been actively supporting this interest. For example, Russia is currently building nine schools with Russian as the language of instruction in various regions of Kyrgyzstan. People in the regions highly appreciated this gift from Russia to Kyrgyzstan and dream of their children receiving an education in these schools. The Days of Russian Culture in Kyrgyzstan also support interest in the Russian language and culture,» he noted.
